J.Cousteau, Looking Through the Keyhole of Mother Nature

“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.”

“A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.”

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (11 June 1910 – 25 June 1997) was a French naval officer, inventor, explorer and researcher.

Cousteau’s legacy includes more than 120 television documentaries, more than 50 books, and an environmental protection foundation with 300,000 members

“I said that the oceans were sick but they’re not going to die. There is no death possible in the oceans — there will always be life — but they’re getting sicker every year.” – Interview (March 1996)

Cousteau liked to call himself an “oceanographic technician.” He was, in reality, a sophisticated showman, teacher, and lover of nature. His work permitted many people to explore the resources of the oceans

“What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what’s going on.” – Christian Science Monitor (21 July 1971)

Celine Cousteau, grandaughter of Jacques-Yves

His work also created a new kind of scientific communication, criticised at the time by some academics. The so-called “divulgationism”, a simple way of sharing scientific concepts, was soon employed in other disciplines and became one of the most important characteristics of modern television broadcasting.

“The real cure for our environmental problems is to understand that our job is to salvage Mother Nature. . . We are facing a formidable enemy in this field. It is the hunters… and to convince them to leave their guns on the wall is going to be very difficult.”

“Mankind has probably done more damage to the Earth in the 20th century than in all of previous human history.”

“If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed — if we are not willing — we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.”